pillar man 2.0

Chapter 21 - Demon vs Demon Slayer

"Why are demons roaming here? Well, thinking about it, this is the perfect hunting ground for them. There will be many deaths in the war. All they need to do is hide among the soldiers and feed on the corpses. They can also use the chaos of war to kill humans unnoticed. But demons are territorial creatures; they rarely operate in teams. Yet I felt several demon presences nearby. Is some powerful demon controlling them behind the scenes?"

I slowly backed away as the situation grew chaotic. There was a good chance demon slayers would appear any moment now. Suddenly, a demon leaped at me with a crazed expression. "Great. They attack me just as I try to escape." I dodged its leap and swung my katana towards its neck. It easily blocked and broke the katana. It tried to punch me, but I barely managed to dodge and countered with a punch to its abdomen. There was a sound like something breaking—the hand of this body. Immediately, I left that body. The demon looked perplexed. "How are you inside a human?" it asked, visibly agitated. "Well, you don't need to know." Before it realized, I passed through it like a ghost. Where it stood, not even ashes remained. The other two demons noticed me. They looked scared and confused but ran towards me.

Suddenly, a loud thunder echoed. A man in his twenties appeared before the demons like lightning. He had striking facial features, dressed in a black kimono with a blue obi over a uniform. Lightning marks covered his body. In his hand, he held an unusually yellow sword. "A demon slayer, and moreover, a Breath user," I thought as I slowly retreated into the darkness to be just an observer.

"Second form of Thunder Breath: Spirit of Rice," announced the demon slayer as he struck four quick blows towards the demons. One, a female demon, managed to dodge, but the other was hit. It screamed in pain, struggling to regenerate. Taking advantage, warriors from both clans quickly escaped, both suffering heavy losses.

"Fifth form: Heat Lightning," he struck an upward long-range blow towards the injured demon. Each of his attacks was accompanied by thunderous sounds. The demon barely managed to escape. The other female demon attacked the demon slayer with her tail, covered in pitch-black flames. "Haha, let's see how you fare against my Blood Demon Art - Corrosive Flames."

"She can use a Blood Demon Art," I thought, witnessing it for the first time. Part of her tail brushed against the demon slayer's shoulder, causing slow corrosion to his flesh. He seemed to be in pain but quickly recovered.

"First form: Thunder and Flash," he instantly moved to the male demon and severed its head. Now it was a one-on-one showdown.

The other demon didn't care that its companion was killed and continued attacking with its tail. The demon slayer dodged and counter-attacked whenever he could.

As the encounter continued, he struggled to defend against the tail's attacks. Soon, he was hit by the tail and sent flying. The corrosive effect of the Blood Demon Art was escalating, but he continued breathing in a special pattern to slow its progress.

"He must be using Total Concentration Breathing to slow it down," I thought, watching the fight unfold.

"Why are you killing all these innocent people?" the demon slayer asked the demon.

"Haha, they're innocent? They kill other humans to survive. How is that innocent?" she replied, laughing maniacally.

She swung her tail wildly in all directions to prevent him from closing the distance.

"Fourth form: Distant Thunder," he unleashed waves of strong multidirectional long-range attacks. Many strikes hit the demon.

The demon was severely injured but had the advantage due to the corrosive nature of her Blood Demon Art. If the fight continued for a few more minutes, she would naturally win.

He struggled to breathe. The demon quickly swung her tail for the kill.

"First form: Thunder and Flash," he quickly evaded, but could barely stand as blood gushed from his hand. One of his hands had been severed.

"It's truly a pity. He's only in his twenties, yet he's dying at the hands of a demon. But don't worry, I have other plans for you," I thought. I wanted to test the effects of turning a Breath user into a vampire.

I immediately revealed myself. Both the demon and the human looked at me vigilantly. Both were worn out and unfit to face me.

I sent many bone shards towards the demon. She dodged some with her tail, but many shots found their mark. As she defended against the bullets, I closed the distance and swung my hand with a bone protruding from it.

She blocked my hand with hers, but it was severed. Using my other hand, I beheaded her. I quickly absorbed her body, leaving nothing but ashes.

I shifted my attention to the demon slayer. At some point, he had fallen unconscious due to blood loss and likely fear, but he was still alive. I went to him and intended to retreat when I sensed a strong presence.

I immediately grabbed the demon slayer and tried to retreat, but I wasn't given the chance as a man blocked my path.

He was a tall, muscular man with long, spiky black hair tied in a ponytail. He had prominent eyebrows and brown eyes.

He wore a purple and black nagagi kimono with a honeycomb pattern and black umanori-style hakama pants tied with a white uwa-obi and a katana at his waist. "I feel like I've seen him somewhere before."

End of chapter